Charge 5 Won't Charge

[CFPhoto]

My Charge 5 will no longer charge (anyone else see the irony here).  I have cleaned the contacts on both the Fitbit and the charging cradle/cable.  I have tried several different USB power adapters and yet the Charge 5 does not take a charge.  It is still running, but the battery is down to just 7%. So it won't be long before it dies.  Any troubleshooting suggestions?  Unfortunately, I do not know anyone with a Charge 5 to be able to try their charger.  

[SunsetRunner]

I have the same issue. My Fitbit is about a year old. It will not take a charge. The restart procedure and other fixes mentioned do not work.

[ToppTur]

There has been enough bad publicity about this in the news that maybe
FitBit will compensate those whose watches were bricked by the firmware
update, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I was offered a 35% off coupon but ultimately ended up buying just the
watch part (without straps and charging cable) new on ebay for $50.

[Dev333]

Hi David,

im having this same problem, ive tried all the community advice and my 6 month old charge 5 is still bricked. 

ive contacted support three times now through live chat and have been told my case would be referenced to the Australian support team for response in 2 days.  So far I’ve waited 2 months for a response trying 3 times to get support - can you please help. I’m now at the point where i dont know the best course of action to get the replacements or refund i require

Hi fitbit team, the community site promoted me to a jogger but then dropped my vote count for this question from ~10 to 0 can someone explain why and how I can get support?

[mintven]

Hi there, 

My Fitbit also would not charge recently. I cleaned the contracts, no luck. I tried the reset button as described but the logo did not appear and still would not charge. I tried this several times.  I tried a reboot of the device, no charge; repeated the reset and still no charge. 

The charge cord was in a generic charge block with several USB ports, no luck with moving to a different port (other devices are charging fine in these ports) I moved the cable to an Apple charge block and it started charging!,  Phew - what a relief! But also, what a frustration to read that so many are unable to get their Fitbit devices to charge.  It feels like built in obsolescence and that’s maddening!  

[FF482]

It has been 3 weeks since I reported this to Fitbit.  They say they will replace it,  but it hasn't shipped and they don't know anything else about it.  Just "shipping delays". I just keep getting the run around.  🤷‍:female_sign:

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, I'm sorry to see that you've been having the same problem to charge your Charge 5. 

If you're new to this thread, please make sure to review and complete the steps mentioned in this article. and complete a three pulse restart using the charging cable. These steps are usually helpful to resolve battery issues. 

If the issue persists, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team so they can inform you about the options available for you. 

[ToppTur]

Hi

First off, it is more likely than not, that issue with the Fitbit Charge 5
experienced me and many others is due a flawed firmware update that
essentially bricked their device.

The steps to "fix" the issue with not work if the firmware update has
bricked the Charge 5.

Aggravating the issue is the fact that Fitbit refuses to acknowledge that
the huge uptick in Charge 5's that suddenly failed is most likely due to a
flawed firmware update.

These devices have not failed due to normal wear and tear or negligence,
but to due to an error on Fitbit's part over which the user had no control.

If the device is outside the warranty window, Fitbit will at most offer a
35% discount on the purchase of a new device rather than replace the watch
(less watchbands and charging cable).

Fitbit is penny-wise, but pund foolish by saving some money in the short
term by choosing this course of action, but I suspect will loose in the
long term due loss of customer base.

Personally I fixed my problem by purchasing a new pebble (the watch with
charging cable or watchband) for $50, less than the whole watch would have
cost with the 35% discount.

If something similar happens again, I will most likely abandon Fitbit for a
different fitness watch brand.

[Sportycatz12]

You are so amazing for putting this answer to my SAME problem on here. I received my Fitbit a year and a half ago and all of a sudden it was just dead. I had gone down the river but i have gotten it wet before so i didn't think that that was the cause of it no longer turning on and i certainly HOPED that wasn't the reason that it was no longer lighting up for me. I noticed while i was on the river that it wouldn't come on and when I took it off to see if it just needed to be charged it would not charge. I tried your reset method about 4 times until I got it right. I was so excited to see that Fitbit symbol pop up! It also then told me i had an 18% charge already. Very weird but at least it is on again. Thanks a bunch for the info❣️ My wrist will no longer feel naked. 🤩

[Michian88]

Worked for me, must press button for 1 sec. Watch then showed it had charged and was 100%. I did lose the previous day's data though.

[KMJacobson]

Couldn't agree more!!!  I have had multiple FitBit devices fail and not be able to be repaired (conveniently after the warranty expired) and to be told that the best they could do was to give me a 25% discount on a new FitBit device.  Actually, I found that buying through Amazon and purchasing the Protection Plan was the best way to go.  After having my device die during a 24 hour fitness event over the weekend, I have decided to look for a product that is more reliable (with the history, it would be hard to find a device LESS reliable than a FitBit).  FitBit has gone significantly downhill since being taken over by Google.  And their "Customer Service" has gone downhill even further.  Check out how many feature requests are marked with "Not going to be implemented".  Especially the bug which will not allow you to remain logged in on the website.  Good Riddance to Google/Fitbit!

[StacyCosham]

Hi David. 

I've read this thread and followed the advice from others. This includes resetting my watch in the app, trying different plugs and sockets with the charge cable and the successful post here described about using the cable button. 

I got the logo, but the watch still will not charge. Any other advice I can follow to get my watch to charge? Unfortunately my watch is now completely out of charge so utterly inactive. It's done this once before but as soon as I connected to the charge cable it charged back up. 

[Ischreck]

I’m having the same problem. Tried the solution pressing the cable button, but didn’t work. Fitbit battery seemed to drain this morning (there was 33% left at 6 am, and then nothing a few hours later. Won’t take a charge. 

[BillS11]

The best advice is to invest in a product that is reliable and from a company that cares about their customers. Bill Stadler

[bibice79]

Thank you! These informations save my day :). It works for me. 

[Charles707]

Doesn't work after many tries.

[BillS11]

I would rather start my campfire with the money than give Fibit anymore of my money. Bill Stadler

[Swtlvr24]

I'm on my second charge 5 that won't charge after about two yrs of wearing it.  The first I sent back and was sent a replacement.  Now they don't have a help line anymore. Crap

[Trev72]

Thanks for pointing out the restart button on the power plug - much easier than using the restart on the device. 

I had noted an issue with the battery management system shortly after I had purchased mine, not long after they were first released.  If you charge it from a low battery state (e.g. <10%) to fully charged and leave it on charge for a while longer (about 1 hour) it works fine. If you stop it charging when it has just reached 100% or less, it reports more battery remaining than is actually the case. Also if you charge it when the battery is not already at a low state it can also not charge properly and show more charge remaining than actual. In these cases it will stop syncing for no obvious reason. The display on the device may show reasonable battery remaining, but when you plug the charger it it shows the battery at a very low state. I have had occasions when I have topped up the charge, the previous day was showing >40% remaining on the app and then it not sync the next day and plugging in the charger it shows the battery remaining is very low. I do not use the battery hungry facilities such as GPS or constant syncing and normally expect to get 7-8 days on a full charge when done as described above.

Update on the reset button on the charger plug - using this deletes any data on the Fitbit whereas using settings/reset on the device preserves data.

[Mbsevans]

Hear hear! Mine has died in past two days. 

Moderator edit: word choice. 

[Trev72]

Update on the reset button on the charger plug - using this deletes any data on the Fitbit whereas

using settings/reset on the device preserves data.